This is their reponse to my email asking for clarification..
Thank you for your email yesterday (13th July).
I appreciate that the guidance for pregnant members in September is less clear-cut than for the current term and we are working to clarify and update the website ASAP.
The Joint Union Checklist for September does include some specific points for consideration regarding workers at higher risk but the union position is slightly different than at the height of the pandemic. The NEU advice is that all Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) staff and those living with someone CEV should be allowed to work from home in September. For staff falling into the broader higher risk/vulnerable group (including pregnant workers) individual risk assessments should be carried out and reviewed at the start of September term taking account of any changes to personal or local circumstances.
We have also asked Public Health England to be specific about their guidance on safety for clinically vulnerable staff, set against the reality of many staff being in rooms of 30 children with little ventilation, with real compromises on social distancing and without PPE.
The DfE guidance is currently that "where schools apply the full measures in this guidance the risks to all staff will be
mitigated significantly, including those who are extremely clinically vulnerable and clinically vulnerable. We expect this will allow most staff to return to the workplace, although we advise those in the most at risk categories to take particular care while community transmission rates continue to fall." On this basis, the NEU position is that vulnerable staff will only be working on-site in September if schools are able to ensure the full measures in the DfE guidance and individual risk assessments deem it appropriate.
It is a tricky balance with regards to staff having appropriate reassurances before finishing for the summer whilst it is so difficult to predict the possible circumstances we may face in September. We all want pupils to return to school and education in September, but it must be a safe return for students, staff and the local community.
Have you had an individual pregnancy risk assessment? If not, then I would strongly advise requesting one and discussing with your school an appropriate time frame to review this for September. It would be reasonable to request that you not be expected to be on-site with children before your individual risk assessment has been reviewed at the start of term. Depending on when your school is due back/whether you have INSET days scheduled etc., you could agree an appropriate time frame for this with your school now so that you have some certainty. We do not have a rep listed for your school, but it may be helpful to discuss this issue with colleagues and raise it collectively - it is highly likely that other colleagues will fall into higher risk groups as well.
Working from home should still be considered as an option for you in September regardless of whether all children have returned - it should be considered as a reasonable adjustment for Health & Safety reasons as addressed in your individual pregnancy risk assessment.
If it is not deemed safe for you to be on-site and it is not possible to make suitable alternative arrangements for your work, then your school should consider the option of medical suspension on full pay. In these circumstances your maternity leave could potentially be triggered four weeks prior to your EDD as medical suspension relating to a Covid-19 risk assessment could meet the criteria for "pregnancy-related" absence in the final four weeks of pregnancy.
If your school assert that it is safe for you to return on-site and you disagree, one option would be for you to speak to your GP and request a "fit note" recommending working from home as a reasonable adjustment.
Please be assured that we will continue to offer our full support to members who wish to raise Health & Safety concerns regarding Covid-19, including requirements of higher risk staff. We will also be issuing further guidance and advice for members before September.
I hope that this information is of some assistance. I appreciate the difficulty of being faced with a degree of ambiguity and uncertainty at this stage. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further support.
In case you are not already aware, there is a reduced subscription rate for members on maternity leave - please contact our membership department on [email protected] to arrange this nearer the time.
Wishing you all the best your pregnancy and birth of your little one.